Bedroom arrangements to please everyone? How?!

[Gentleness]

Could I have some expert bedroom advice please? For the kids, naturally! ;) I've been pondering for over a year how to rearrange the rooms to suit everyone.

We have 3 bedrooms. One is small, used as the nursery with ds1 (2.5yrs) sleeping in there. One is a large double - that's ours and we like it the way it is. DS2 (10mo) shares with us for now but needs to move out any day now. The last is a huge double and is big enough eventually for a set of bunk beds, the daybed/kingsize guest bed and the usual set of furniture. BUT it currently has a load of books, paperwork and craft stuff in - my painting and sewing gear - and a gateleg table for our working. There is NOWHERE downstairs for all that. That room is hideous and needs redecorating completely ASAP.

Which of the following solutions would you go for, given that we want child#3 (and maybe 4) fairly soon? And we're here for another 5 years at least God willing.

1. The original plan. Clear, organise and set up the huge bedroom for the boys, in toddler beds till they're big enough for bunks. Shift a load of toys up there (currently minimal in the nursery). Have some of our storage space in there and maybe the table too - wouldn't fit in our room without making a crush. Keep the nursery as a nursery until babies are done. This way I couldn't sew or paint after bedtimes.

1. The original back-up plan. As above but make the nursery into an office/craft room. Babies sleep in our room for up to a year anyway and if we are blessed with more, they'd all share the huge room, even if #3 is a girl.

1. My sudden inspired new idea that may be really misguided. Have both boys sleeping in the nursery but move their clothes storage (and some toys) into the huge bedroom. Make it into a work/play/family room that can be used any time. They could go through there after they wake in the morning and get dressed etc in there. We'd have to organise it well and keep it very tidy to keep the kids safe, but they'd have their own space without the living room becoming an ugly mess. This is likely to be temporary solution: 3 kids wouldn't fit in the nursery. But that is at least 1.5yrs away - IF we conceive quickly and the pg sticks which isn't our usual scenario.

1. Some kind of perfect solution beyond my capacities.

Thanks and much credit if you managed to wade through and follow all of that! What do you think would work in real life as opposed to my fantasy where we all suddenly become tidy people with no extra effort?

HOw much time do you spend sewing/painting?

I think 3 kids in one room may be a bit much so option 2 not ideal.
OPtion 1 is ok if you dont do your craft things much at night, if you do then option 3 may be better, at least for now....

I know you say you like your room as it is, but I think if you want the table for your painting and sewing then the best place for it is your room.

I would flip the rooms over, take the largest room for you then put the boys in what is now your room. Don't bother with toddler beds, just buy the type of bunks that will separate, that wat they will last right through rather than buying toddler beds, then bunks, then singles when they are too old for the bunks.

Ha - right question Pannacotta! Right now, hardly any time as we're slowly decluttering and organising to get to the stage where we can empty and replaster and recarpet that room etc. I'm hoping that once that massive project is done, I'll be able to use the time to sew.

Frenchfancy -your post made me think of something new to consider. I paint in oils so very stinky. Really no-one should have to sleep with that smell! Fortunately we have the toddler beds already through friends passing them on, so there's no cost to bear. I'm so excited about my boys in bunk beds though - they were such a large feature of our childhood!

This is making me think more and more that bedrooms should be just for sleeping and relaxing. I just don't know how practical that is for young kids!

I would put the craft stuff in your room (I'm assuming there is room as you will move ds2 out)

loft conversion / conservatory for office/craft/play room? Then bedrooms for sleeping.

Garage / shed for the craft stuff?

I would move the children into the large room with toys from downstairs.

Make the box room the crafty / storage room. TBH I think space for the kids comes above painting/ sewing hobbies.

Oh and I grew up with 3 of us in a room (addmittedly all dd's) we had a cabin bed (with desk wardrobe combo underneath and a set of bunk beds. It is not impossible and in these straigtened times more likely to be the norm...

Have you got room in the garden for a summerhouse type craft room? Even if you can't get one big/warm/well insulated enough to work in, you could use it for storage then bring in your easel or sewing machine to the living room as you need them.

Then bedrooms are easy to work out.

Ah - thanks so much for all your ideas. I so wish we could make some of them work!

Our room has space for storing more stuff but no space to open out the table so it would usable, or to have an easel up. Ds2 is titchy so still fits in his crib!

No garage and the shed is small and full enough - couldn't get a larger one without losing the veg patch. I would LOVE a summerhouse to paint in but the garden is long and thin - typical terraced one. My dream home now includes a summerhouse especially for crafts!

I love the idea of a loft conversion but I don't think the cost is worth it for us given this isn't our forever house. We have an area floored and strong enough to take a table, so we can use it for regular access to storage at least. Maybe we need to expand a bit on that idea.

DorisIsWaiting - that is my sticking point about going with Option 3 - the kids should come first. But do they need large bedrooms to have toys/etc where they sleep? I'm thinking it could be good for our family all round to use shared space for all non-sleeping time and keep the bedrooms really calm with just books in there. The boxroom is quite big really - would fit a full size single plus small wardrobe and chest of drawers in - that is how it was when we viewed the house and it didn't feel cramped.

I think one of my sticking points is that I love that little room as a place for my babies. It has a really nice feel and I can't quite let go of that purpose for it! Whereas the big room might look great after loads of work, but for now is just ugly. I can usually picture a room finished, but I'm struggling with this one.

Hmph. After DS1's wild behaviour today, having a bedroom he can just go and play in is looking more attractive!

Does anyone else have a similar set-up - bedrooms used only for sleeping and shared in favour of a play room?

My DSs share a room and we only keep books in there and cuddly toys.
They have their toys downstairs in our sitting room, though I am trying to encourage them to use the spare room as a playroom.
Bu tthey are 7 and 4, if that helps. IME younger kids prefer to have toys downstairs so they can play close to parents.